Historical Drama Fiction

On a hilltop in Umbria sits Valetto. Once a thriving village—and a hub of resistance and refuge during World War II—centuries of earthquakes, landslides, and the lure of a better life have left it neglected. Only ten residents remain, including the widows Serafino—three eccentric sisters and their steely centenarian mother—who live quietly in their medieval villa. Then their nephew and grandson, Hugh, a historian, returns. But someone else has arrived before him, laying claim to the cottage where Hugh spent his childhood summers.

In the early hours of 5 June 1944, Captain Rob Collins, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is languishing in hospital, receives a call that will take him on a journey through England that will change his life. Mike Walker's play is an epic journey across England poised on the edge of a historical moment. It is set on June 5th, the day before the invasion. It is a portrait of England waiting for the invasion that will change the course of history, but an invasion only a very few know that is about happen. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliet Stevenson and Claudia Harrison.

In 1933, after Hitler and the Nazi Party consolidated power in Germany, Immanuel Birnbaum, a German Jewish journalist based in Warsaw, is forbidden from writing for newspapers in his homeland. Six years later, just months before the German invasion of Poland that ignites World War II, Immanuel escapes to Sweden with his wife and two young sons.

They called themselves the Bombay Buccaneers - and under that flamboyant name they blazed a trail of daring and adventure from the Gulf of Oman to the waters of Macao. For courage, loyalty, and renown few of the Buccaneers could match their Captain, Percival Merewether, a brilliant seaman who was already the hero of a score of fabled sea-faring campaigns. Newly in command of the 36-gun frigate Pitt, Merewether is about to set sail again.

Roman historian Procopius publicly praised Theodora of Constantinople for her piety-while secretly detailing her salacious stage act and maligning her as ruthless and power hungry. So who was this woman who rose from humble beginnings as a dancer to become the empress of Rome and a saint in the Orthodox Church? Award-winning novelist Stella Duffy vividly recreates the life and times of a woman who left her mark on one of the ancient world's most powerful empires.

Celia's quiet life ends when her mother, a famed London courtesan, dies, leaving her a small house in town - and a darkly handsome, reputedly dangerous tenant.

At the age of 30, Robin is an Earl at last - but not the Earl of Waringham, the ancestral title that he still hopes to win back one day from the evil Mortimer. England has seen other changes too: Edward III is dead and his successor, the boy king Richard II, is at odds with his uncle, the Duke of Lancaster. The introduction of a hated new poll tax brings about one of the most dangerous episodes in English history and Robin finds himself embroiled in the Peasants’ Revolt.

Cotton Malone and his 15-year-old son, Gary, are headed to Europe. As a favor to his former boss at the Justice Department, Malone agrees to escort a teenage fugitive back to England. But after he is greeted at gunpoint in London, both the fugitive and Gary disappear, and Malone learns that he’s stumbled into a high-stakes diplomatic showdown - an international incident fueled by geopolitical gamesmanship and shocking Tudor secrets.

"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." The play seems to have been one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime and still ranks among his most-performed. It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been described as "the world's most-filmed story after Cinderella".

岳飞，是我国宋金时代的汉民族英雄，他从小奋发努力，勤学苦练，在校场比试中一枪成名，却因为朝廷腐败而反遭追杀……岳飛，是我國宋金時代的漢民族英雄，他從小奮發努力，勤學苦練，在校場比試中一槍成名，卻因為朝廷腐敗而反遭追殺……

What made Masada qualitatively different from most of the battles Rome fought was not just the difficulty the Legions had in retaking control of it with incredibly disproportionate military equipment and numbers, but also the actions of the Judean defenders. In the final hours of the battle, just as the Romans were about to breach the walls of the city, the defenders gathered together and committed mass suicide, rather than being killed or taken captive by the Romans.

Das wohl berühmteste Drama von Anton Tschechow, das nach wie vor Dauergast in den Theaterhäusern ist. Konstantin Treplev will Schriftsteller werden. Doch Unterstützung erfährt er keine, weder von seiner Mutter noch von seiner Geliebten Nina. Als diese Treplev für den erfolgreichen Autoren Trigorin verlässt, nimmt das Unglück seinen Lauf.

La prensa que apoyó a María Teresa en su reinado la pinta como víctima de las circunstancias; mientras que la prensa del Estado, como asesina a sangre fría. México, 1928. Mientras el país despierta con la noticia del atentado contra el presidente Álvaro Obregón, María Teresa Landa solo tiene ojos para el anuncio que destaca la prensa sobre el concurso Señorita México. Impetuosa y descontenta con el papel que esperan de ella, la joven encuentra en el certamen la plataforma perfecta para mostrarle al mundo su valía.

July, 1914: In their sunlit Hampshire workshop, Alice Dalton mixes paints for the stained-glass artwork she and Edmund are working on, pausing only to joyfully cradle the soft swell of her stomach. But the looming war threatens her hard-won happiness. A knock at the door announces the arrival of Victor, her estranged brother, returning after six long years in America. But her elation at being reunited is short-lived as she realizes he still hasn’t forgiven her for her part in the heartbreak that sent him abroad.

It is the summer of 1927 and Hotel Portofino is prospering under Bella’s stewardship. As the season begins, Bella is keenly looking forward to her son Lucian’s imminent arrival and the chance to discuss with him her plans to convert the hotel’s basement into a spa. But then Bella’s husband Cecil turns up unannounced. Over the course of several hot weeks in the middle of the Italian summer, Bella is forced to confront the reality of her relationship with Cecil and to decide to what extent she is prepared to go against social convention to get what she wants.

It's 1890, and Josie Gray is an innocent and beautiful fifteen-year old when Adam McGuigan, the youngest son of a dangerous and influential crime family, spots her singing in a Sunderland public house. Adam is handsome and charismatic, sweeping Josie off her feet with his beguiling lies and promises. He charms her into marrying him on her sixteenth birthday, but on her wedding night the fairy tale ends.

Secrets shared can bind hearts, but secrets concealed? That's a tale of its own. The year is 1884. Robert Cooke and his pregnant wife Freya tragically lose their two sons to scarlet fever, sending Freya into self-imposed isolation for the safety of their unborn child. Cut off from each other, their shared grief becomes a silent, destructive foe. A decade later and now a successful businessman, Robert conceives a poignant tribute to his lost sons - a pleasure garden. But in withholding his vision from Freya, he widens the gulf between them.

Dorset, 1682. Catherine Carey was once a vivacious beauty with the world at her feet. One tragic accident was all it took to shatter her dreams, her spirit, her everything. Now, she only wants to hide her scarred face from the world. But if she thinks she’s safe at home, she is wrong. Her scheming brother wants to marry her off to a fortune-hunter, and he won’t take no for an answer. Out on a lonely walk, Catherine is attacked and left for dead. Could this be her brother’s doing?

Life is going well for Maria. Welcomed into the Saward family, she has secured herself a job as a maid for Queen Alexandra and is living with her family in a beautiful cottage on the Royal Sandringham estate. The luxuries and privilege associated with the royal family are a far cry from the poverty and suffering she endured before, though the royals, like the nation, are tightening their belts. But when a mysterious relative turns up, seemingly on the run from the law, Maria's new-found happiness could be under threat.

Ostpreußen im Winter 1944/45: Alles ist in Auflösung. Flüchtlingsströme wälzen sich in Richtung Westen. Nur auf dem Gutshof der von Globigs scheint die Welt noch heil zu sein. Bis auch hier die Ordnung zusammenbricht. Walter Kempowskis Meisterwerk bringt die Themen Flucht und Vertreibung, Schuld und Heimatlosigkeit in eine eindringliche, literarische Form...